Now here's a good value-for-money set for quality soul devotees. Phil Driver and Leigh Fry
have done an excellent job in compiling soul tracks from various indie releases.
Many of the tunes included have already been raved in our online magazine - or included in our
Quality Time Cream Cuts or Serious Soul Chart listings of recommended soul tracks and albums, but the
great thing is that most of the previously unknown artists featured here are equally classy.

First of all, Antoinette Manganas is one of the finest new talents that have emerged
in recent years, and certainly deserves all the exposure she can get.
Her duet with Howard Hewett, Where Do We Get from Here topped our
Cream Cuts Chart in April, and Antoinette's brilliant solo set
Verbal Crush
was our album of the month in April, spending two months at the top of our
Serious Soul Chart. If you still need more recommendations, just listen to the YouTube
video pick below!

Moreover, our readers are probably already aware of the excellence of Trish Andrews',
Sophia Nelson's
and Tammy Harris' recent albums, and if you aren't, here is a good chance to check
these talents. Trish Andrews' recent CD These Five Words spent two weeks
at # 2 position on the Serious Soul Chart, and Tammy Harris' album
Natural Vibe
was our album of the
month in October 2007. In my
Quality Time column from 2008, I mentioned that
"for anyone who likes both soul and salsa and Latin music, Sophia Nelson's latest CD is
worth hunting down"; you can listen to Sophia's track Over on this compilation.

Barry Towler has also been raving about
Ashanti Munir and
Jua in our CD reviews, and the old Woody Cunningham tune Never Say Never
from 1997 is probably already considered as a classic by many.

Of the artists that were completely new names to me, I especially loved the
Lisa Zuré track Tongue Tide, which is crowned by some excellent saxophone soloing
by Vince Lars. Many other tracks chosen for this compilation also feature plenty of
saxophone. Other highly recommended tracks include Razzberry's highly soulful mid-tempo ballad
At Times and Arlana Jane's stylish sax-laced ballad Mirage, which is
produced by the legendary Michael J. Powell.